Breaking Point
by LaFleurTriste
Summary: After DP. One of the other Edison Group projects: brought up in a compound, ignorant of the world outside a group of teenagers must decide how they want their future to unfold. Will they choose safety or freedom? Imprisonment or danger?
1. Chapter 1

**This is set after the current Darkest Powers Trilogy and concerns one of the other groups of subjects that the Edison Group is messing about with. At the moment there are no plans to introduce Chloe and pals, but who knows. Please read on, enjoy, and if you're really lovely, review! More characters to be introduced in the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: DP belongs to Kelley Armstrong, lucky woman...**

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**Chapter One - A Meeting**

For the past sixteen years the boundary of Alicia's world had been the perimeter fence that encircled the medical compound. It stood three times the height of the tallest man she knew and was topped with a vicious wrapping of barbed wire, but it had never occurred to her that anyone was being locked in – on the contrary, _they_ were being protected from the outside.

Dr Davidoff had been very clear on that point – the outside world didn't understand people like her, they would put her in a cage and experiment on her as if she was a lab rat (if they didn't kill her on sight). Here she was safe.

The morning had started like any other. Breakfast was laid out in the main hall, the long metal tables crowded with people of varying ages and occupations all concerned with eating. Alicia took a seat at one of the tables next to Hendricks, her English tutor, who nodded a greeting and resumed his conversation with the scientist sitting across from him.

None of her classmates were down yet, probably still curled up in bed, she thought enviously, taking advantage of the rather lax rules on punctuality. Of course she could be doing the same but she'd agreed to help Dr Liefsson in the labs setting up the equipment for the afternoons 'mid-terms'. Apparently normal kids got to take multiple choice exams and write essays, but not at the Lake Madeleine Research Centre. Oh no, they got to test spell casting accuracy and precision fire starting -activities which involved lots of bulky equipment that needed arranging at stupid o'clock in the morning. Alicia sighed to herself; she wasn't really annoyed, just nervous.

The tests were the only reminder that the whole set-up wasn't just to protect them as they grew up, they were expected to be honing their powers until they fulfilled the potential the scientists thought them capable of. Not performing well meant more than a bad grade; people had lost their jobs before and students that didn't succeed were removed from the group until they had caught up.

Having thoroughly lost her appetite Alicia grabbed a bottle of water and headed out of the main hall. The Centre had been built prior to the first of the student's births, 18 years ago, but looked as if it had been there for centuries with its thick stone walls and arched ceilings. Dr Davidoff had told them that his inspiration was the monasteries of Europe, the centres of learning in ages past, and it certainly added a sense of importance to the enterprise. However, the monks hadn't been overly keen on elevators or heating, so they'd made adjustments.

The testing rooms were in the left wing and the quickest way to reach them was to cross through the central courtyard. She was just pushing the heavy oak doors open when she heard voices coming from one of the side-passages – unfamiliar voices.

Alicia could count on one hand the number of times strangers had been allowed into the Centre and they had never been related to anything good. The last time was when Keeley had failed her mid-terms (quite spectacularly, by setting fire to everything in the test room rather than the candle she'd been set), Dr Davidoff had come in with strangers in dark suits to talk to Dr Webbe. That was when Dr Liefsson had been re-assigned to head their group; they had never seen Dr Webbe again.

Alicia darted through the open doors and managed to pull them to before the men rounded the corner – through the gap she could see them approaching, their heads turned towards each other as they talked, they were very similar, (dark shoes, dark suit, dark tie) all apart from their hair; one dark, one blindingly blonde.

When they neared the door they stopped. Alicia froze. Had they seen her? No, a moment later Dr Davidoff walked into view and shook hands with the dark haired man.

Alicia let out the breath she'd been holding and was about to turn around and leave when she caught what Dr Davidoff was saying.

"Mr St. Cloud, so glad you could come."

Mr St. Cloud – the founder of the whole operation, Dr Davidoff's boss, was standing not five feet away from her. Something big must be happening, Alicia thought, her pulse racing; she was terrified to move in case she made a noise.

"Of course you are. Is everything ready?"

"The tests will start this afternoon, sir. I've arranged to have the Director's suite opened in the meantime, though."

"Hm. I trust you realise what's riding on these tests, Davidoff." The sharp voice replied. "I will not tolerate another failure."

The slice of the doctor's face that Alicia could see paled visibly and his mouth pursed under his grey moustache. The all-mighty Dr Davidoff was being brought down to size, if she wasn't so scared she would've enjoyed this.

"There were unforeseen problems with Genesis II."

His answer was met by silence and Alicia wondered how long they'd continue their showdown in a public corridor. People would be finishing their breakfast soon and making their way through to the labs and classrooms, they couldn't risk being seen arguing. The thought had obviously occurred to the blonde aide as well because he leaned in to Mr St. Cloud and whispered something in his ear.

Mr St. Cloud nodded and looked up at Davidoff, his features rearranged into a more genial expression.

"How about we have some coffee?"

Davidoff looked relieved and motioned the two men to follow him, they walked out of sight and Alicia heard the soft shush-shush sound of the elevator doors as they left.

It took her a minute to recover; the exchange she'd just overheard was obviously significant, if only for the fact that it revealed Davidoff was not as all-powerful as he wanted people to believe. Failures with Genesis II ... she'd never heard anything like it, was there another compound like Lake Madeleine? More students?

The questions kept on coming but Alicia couldn't wait around any longer, Dr Liefsson would be wondering where she was by now and Alicia knew he would see through any story she concocted to explain her lateness. Pulling herself together she strode off across the courtyard towards the testing rooms.

She had other things to worry about anyway.

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**Again, introduction of other students next chapter and Mr St. Cloud drama unfolds. Thanks.**


	2. Chapter 2

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Thank you for reading on, some more scene setting before the action (I apologise if its a bit descriptive, but hang on in there). Enjoy!

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**Chapter Two – Preparations**

When Alicia opened the door to the testing rooms she was met with a wall of darkness and a silence that set her nerves on edge. Where was Dr Liefsson? The gallery that overlooked the rooms where they would be tested later on was empty, the equipment still stacked at the far end, untouched.

She moved forward to look down through the glass panels, thinking that maybe Dr Liefsson had started without her, but the first two rooms were as empty as the gallery, swathed in shadows that only hinted at the outline of walls and floor. Alicia had stopped to peer into the third testing room when the lights suddenly powered up – she screamed.

Lying on a metal table were three dead bodies, in varying degrees of decay, their faces (what was left of them) staring up at Alicia with empty eyes. She scrambled back from the glass, her hands to her mouth, another scream strangling her throat.

Pounding footsteps rang out behind her and she whirled around to face her attacker. The table in the centre of the room flew through the air in response to her fear, straight at the oncoming zombie hordes –

"Alicia! Stop!"

The table froze in midair, rotating slightly and Alicia stepped to the side so she could see the man behind it. Not, as she'd feared, a psychotic zombie hungering for her flesh but a tall, well built, blonde man in a white lab coat. Dr Liefsson.

"Put the table down please, Alicia."

She felt some of the tension leave her body as she released the hold she'd instinctively taken only moments before, directing the table to set down close to where it had started. The clunk of the heavy metal legs broke the spell that had fallen over the scene.

"I'm sorry you were scared like that," the doctor said as he ran his hands through his hair, "I'd forgotten that I hadn't told you Ania would be joining the group today."

He walked past her to sort out the files that had been scattered when she threw the table at him, smiling at her as he passed. Ania was a member of the first group born in Lake Madeleine, two years older than the group Alicia was a part of, her testing equipment was the hardest to come by. Ania was a necromancer. She could contact the dead, banish ghosts and one day she would be able to raise the dead – though Alicia hoped she was very far away when that finally happened. The dead bodies below would be for her.

She cleared her throat and Dr Liefsson turned to look at her.

"Why is she joining us?"

"She was ill when her group was tested, it seemed more practical to fit her in with you lot."

Alicia was relieved; she had felt a moment's sick apprehension that Ania could be joining their group permanently. Though the two groups were separate and their classrooms and dormitories were in different parts of the compound they had all grown up together. This created a certain comradeship between them - apart from Ania. The older girl avoided any contact with Alicia's group; she was only interested in the company of her classmates, who closed ranks whenever anything unusual happened.

The nature of her power left Alicia feeling slightly uneasy; control over the dead seemed even more unnatural than anything anyone else could do. And the person playing God was a frail, wispy thing who didn't seem to be all there most of the time.

"Shall we set up the other rooms then?"

Alicia nodded, took the boxes he handed her and followed him down the stairs to the corridor which the testing rooms opened off of. As she passed the door of the room with the bodies in she shuddered, the fear she'd felt when she first saw them hadn't completely dissipated, and hurried after Dr Liefsson.

The first room they had to arrange was for Keeley, their resident fire starter. After the fantastic display two years ago they had coated every surface with fire-retardant paint and replaced the wooden desk and chairs with ones made of formed stone. Minimalist chic, definitely.

Pieces of wood were lined up on one side of the desk while the other end was taken up by a rather cumbersome water-boiler complete with industrial thermometer. Dr Liefsson obviously wasn't concerned with her telling Keeley what she was up against, it wouldn't have mattered anyway, there was nothing here that she hadn't practised with before.

Next up was Rory's room, the only boy in the group he was a sorcerer of phenomenal power, as he was quick to tell everyone again and again, and again... Nobody begrudged him his boasting, he was rather outnumbered and overpowered by the girls in the group and he was the first to point out the restriction of having to recite Latin phrases before he could cast anything.

He didn't have any props, though they left a towel and a couple of water bottles in a corner of the bare room – his test was going to be a magical face-off with Dr Liefsson, he'd been looking forward to it for months, masochist that he was. Dr Webbe hadn't been interested in Rory's magical ability; he had been more concerned with the demon genetics behind Alicia and Keeley's power, with Dr Liefsson he had a teacher who would stretch him, appreciate him.

The final room Alicia was going to have to share with Jade, though they would be tested separately, and most of the equipment was already there; an army cot and a gym horse taking up most of the space. All they had to drop off was a long stretch of wood that needed two people to carry it and a set of different sized rocks – all of which were for her.

Jade was a shaman, the only female shaman anyone involved with the Centre had ever met, and her inclusion on the trial was a complete accident. Originally it had been her twin brother, Luis, who was going to make up the fourth member of their group but it became apparent by his fifth birthday that he had no shamanic powers; his sister, however, did.

The problem of what to do with Luis never had to be broached. He died shortly afterwards, his young body not being able to withstand a virus that swept through the compound that autumn. Jade had worked relentlessly to develop her healing skills ever since.

With the set-up complete, and Alicia privately wondering whether her presence had been completely necessary, they made their way back up into the gallery. The sun had come up fully by now and was streaming through the wide windows, bouncing off any surface it could find.

"I need you back here at two and remember to eat something beforehand. Don't want you falling out of mid-air."

Alicia tried to smile at his joke but failed miserably, she could gorge herself silly and be perfectly well rested and still manage to screw up her test. He was referring to her being able to move herself up onto the gym horse by moving the plank of wood she'd be standing on. If it worked she'd have an instant magic-carpet, if not... well, they wouldn't have to look very far for a patient for Jade. Her stomach was in knots about it.

He sat back at the desk and opened one of the files lying before him. She took this as permission to go and went to find her friends.

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**You can guess what's going to be covered in the next chapter, but ooh there's going to be a shock or two. Thanks!**

Disclaimer: DP property of Kelley Armstrong, *insert witty comment here*


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